Meredith Traffic

jbolty · 08-08-2019, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garysanfran

How many people would go on the internet for instructions on the new crosswalk before they come to Meredith...Is this done by real people with logical brains? You have to go to a web site for instructions on a street sign...WOW! And maybe another WOW is deserved.!!!

Would a proper defense be "I don't have access to the internet, so I just didn't know what to do when the red started flashing."

Ignorance of the law is no excuse!

What about the color blind?

garysanfran · 08-08-2019, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbolty

Ignorance of the law is no excuse!

What about the color blind?

Red on the top...Green on the bottom...Hmmm, Or is it the other way around.

Ignorance of the law is why we have lawyers

loony · 08-09-2019, 08:10 AM

I was also confused. I get that a flashing red is the same as a stop sign but alternating flashing red lights are like those on a school bus where you must stop no matter what.

They should add a green light to avoid confusion. A pedestrian gate would also prevent polite drivers from stopping when lights are off. Would Would certainly be cheaper than a tunnel.

TheTimeTraveler · 08-09-2019, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loony

I was also confused. I get that a flashing red is the same as a stop sign but alternating flashing red lights are like those on a school bus where you must stop no matter what.

They should add a green light to avoid confusion. A pedestrian gate would also prevent polite drivers from stopping when lights are off. Would Would certainly be cheaper than a tunnel.

They should have a flashing yellow light to tell people to slow down and be prepared to stop if needed......

ITD · 08-09-2019, 10:09 PM

Not standard lighting for this area, if not this country. Dumb system.

frank m. · 08-11-2019, 03:56 PM

I communicated with the Meredith Town Manager, Phil Warren about this. He's a good guy and knows how to get things done, but his hands are a bit tied over this. The Feds paid for all the redevelopment of the stretch and they required the HAWK crossing signal. I had recommended a RYG crossing signal synced with the big intersection so that pedestrians would need to wait until the southbound traffic was already stopped at the intersection anyway to cross. The crossing light would go yellow to red a bit after the southbound light went red and if there were pedestrians waiting to cross. After giving them time to cross it would go green. Driver's presumably know to GO at a green light. The problem with the HAWK signal is that despite what they were taught in driver's ed, they don't know that they can go, if safe, at a blinking red. This is delaying things until traffic back up through the intersection and only 4-5 southbound cars are getting through the intersection on their green light. It is also causing a lot of honking and swearing and is surely going to result in some road range or a pull-around accident.
The problem could go away as HAWK signals get more familiar, as did the initial problems with right-on-red. Or we could make an effort to convince the Feds to let it be changed to a synchronized RYG crossing signal.
But the later would need the raising of some money, and maybe a connection to someone high up in the USDoT, to get an allowance around the HAWK requirement. Meanwhile, it would not hurt the cause to have people expressing their frustration to Phil... so he can appreciate how bad it is... pwarren@meredithnh.org

DickR · 08-12-2019, 10:23 AM

I thought the purpose of the whole project was to improve traffic flow at critical high-volume times. Has there been any improvement at all? If there hasn't been, due to how the crossing area signals are set up, then I would think Meredith would have a strong case to present to the Feds. I don't go through there on weekends, due to congestion, so I'm going by what I hear on this forum.

Meredith AK · 08-12-2019, 10:51 AM

The new "formal with lights and walk signal" crosswalk replaces the two former crosswalks that cars were forced to stop at as soon as any pedestrian stepped forward. The fact that there's only one there now, along with lights and walk signals has made some improvement to the traffic flow. We recommended that a gate or a "wait for walk signal here" be placed near the walk button on each side to the town office, but that still wouldn't cure the fact that cars stop as soon as they see a pedestrian near the crosswalk.
So to answer the question of has the traffic flow improved in Meredith after the new signal was put it; the answer is sort of, but a long ways to go.

garysanfran · 08-12-2019, 11:23 AM

The traffic is worse now than before. Bruinsfan did not start this thread because it was only a marginal improvement.

How someone at the Fed level, who probably has never been on Rt3. in Meredith, can dictate how Meredith needs to solve it's local traffic/pedestrian dilemma is bizarre.

The Real BigGuy · 08-12-2019, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garysanfran

The traffic is worse now than before. Bruinsfan did not start this thread because it was only a marginal improvement.

How someone at the Fed level, who probably has never been on Rt3. in Meredith, can dictate how Meredith needs to solve it's local traffic/pedestrian dilemma is bizarre.

I’m betting federal $ we’re used in some way, shape, or form to design, purchase, or install the crosswalk. Take federal $ and you have to play by their rules. Most often I find myself scratching my head after I read them. I live by the rule that, if they make sense after I’ve read them, I’ve obviously misunderstood something.

Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Orion · 08-12-2019, 03:53 PM

Maybe there should be a yellow line set back a bit from the road and a sign for pedestrians to "Stand behind Yellow Line and wait for crossing light".

jimkberry · 08-12-2019, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frank m.

The problem with the HAWK signal is that despite what they were taught in driver's ed, they don't know that they can go, if safe, at a blinking red.

Thanks for the HAWK info. A quick web search shows the the confusion is pretty well-known and documented. I disagree (politely, of course) with you that the blinking red is the major problem at the Town Docks, though in fairness it does seem to be the one most quoted complaint the literature that I saw.

It appears to me that the main issue here in Meredith is that drivers in a pedestrian-heavy tourist area - in a place that is not familiar to them - will very frequently assume that a brightly-painted crosswalk is a pedestrian right-of-way. Even folks who think that it isn't the case might stop anyway just to be safe - more to avoid a ticket that an accident.

I may be mistaken, but I am under the impression that pedestrians have the right of way at the identically painted crosswalks on Main St?

Given the HAWK requirement I suspect we'll just all have to live with it. I do think it seems better than it was.

-jim

08-11-2019, 03:56 PM	#6
frank m. Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 81 Thanks: 4 Thanked 27 Times in 7 Posts	HAWK signal I communicated with the Meredith Town Manager, Phil Warren about this. He's a good guy and knows how to get things done, but his hands are a bit tied over this. The Feds paid for all the redevelopment of the stretch and they required the HAWK crossing signal. I had recommended a RYG crossing signal synced with the big intersection so that pedestrians would need to wait until the southbound traffic was already stopped at the intersection anyway to cross. The crossing light would go yellow to red a bit after the southbound light went red and if there were pedestrians waiting to cross. After giving them time to cross it would go green. Driver's presumably know to GO at a green light. The problem with the HAWK signal is that despite what they were taught in driver's ed, they don't know that they can go, if safe, at a blinking red. This is delaying things until traffic back up through the intersection and only 4-5 southbound cars are getting through the intersection on their green light. It is also causing a lot of honking and swearing and is surely going to result in some road range or a pull-around accident. The problem could go away as HAWK signals get more familiar, as did the initial problems with right-on-red. Or we could make an effort to convince the Feds to let it be changed to a synchronized RYG crossing signal. But the later would need the raising of some money, and maybe a connection to someone high up in the USDoT, to get an allowance around the HAWK requirement. Meanwhile, it would not hurt the cause to have people expressing their frustration to Phil... so he can appreciate how bad it is... pwarren@meredithnh.org

08-12-2019, 10:51 AM	#8
Meredith AK Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Beautiful Town of Meredith Posts: 109 Thanks: 40 Thanked 44 Times in 32 Posts	1 vs. 2 crosswalks The new "formal with lights and walk signal" crosswalk replaces the two former crosswalks that cars were forced to stop at as soon as any pedestrian stepped forward. The fact that there's only one there now, along with lights and walk signals has made some improvement to the traffic flow. We recommended that a gate or a "wait for walk signal here" be placed near the walk button on each side to the town office, but that still wouldn't cure the fact that cars stop as soon as they see a pedestrian near the crosswalk. So to answer the question of has the traffic flow improved in Meredith after the new signal was put it; the answer is sort of, but a long ways to go.

08-12-2019, 11:23 AM	#9
garysanfran Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: San Francisco/Meredith Posts: 1,581 Thanks: 680 Thanked 684 Times in 350 Posts	I disagree... The traffic is worse now than before. Bruinsfan did not start this thread because it was only a marginal improvement. How someone at the Fed level, who probably has never been on Rt3. in Meredith, can dictate how Meredith needs to solve it's local traffic/pedestrian dilemma is bizarre. __________________ Gary ~~~~_/) ~~~ ~~~~~~~~

08-12-2019, 03:53 PM	#11
Orion Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: MA Posts: 914 Thanks: 602 Thanked 193 Times in 91 Posts	cheap fix Maybe there should be a yellow line set back a bit from the road and a sign for pedestrians to "Stand behind Yellow Line and wait for crossing light".

08-09-2019, 08:10 AM	#3
loony Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 104 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	I was also confused. I get that a flashing red is the same as a stop sign but alternating flashing red lights are like those on a school bus where you must stop no matter what. They should add a green light to avoid confusion. A pedestrian gate would also prevent polite drivers from stopping when lights are off. Would Would certainly be cheaper than a tunnel.

08-09-2019, 10:09 PM	#5
ITD Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 2,939 Thanks: 481 Thanked 695 Times in 390 Posts	Not standard lighting for this area, if not this country. Dumb system.

The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to frank m. For This Useful Post:
camp guy (08-12-2019), ITD (08-12-2019), jimkberry (08-12-2019)

08-12-2019, 10:23 AM	#7
DickR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 757 Thanks: 4 Thanked 259 Times in 171 Posts	I thought the purpose of the whole project was to improve traffic flow at critical high-volume times. Has there been any improvement at all? If there hasn't been, due to how the crossing area signals are set up, then I would think Meredith would have a strong case to present to the Feds. I don't go through there on weekends, due to congestion, so I'm going by what I hear on this forum.